Maxwell's Clothiers - First Order

[Gin&Tonics]

Hello gents (and ladies, if you should happen to be interested)

I received my first order from Maxwell's Clothier's today, so I thought I'd post some details about it in case anyone from the lounge is considering making use of their services. They offered a package deal which included 1 suit and 3 shirts, made to measure, for $595 Canadian. This is a SMOKING hot deal from what I've seen, because just walking into a place like Moores you're going to pay at least that much for just one crappy modern suit that probably doesn't fit you well and is made of cheap material. After communicating via email, I decided to add a waistcoat to the suit for an additional $185 and to opt for surgeon's cuffs for an extra $25 charge. Here are some shots of the suit:

In the picture below you can see that although I did not specifically ask for it (I forgot to) the armholes are cut quite high compared to anything you find off the rack:

The jacket is of a navy "wool gabardine" fabric and appears to my admittedly novice eye to have genuine horn buttons:

The fabric is definitely not of a vintage thickness, but it seems a bit nicer and at the very least as good quality as anything you'll find off the rack at places like Moores or Men's Wearhouse. Mr. Maxwell actually tours the world periodically doing fittings for suits and shirts, and I suspect that he has more fabrics available than are listed on his website, so I plan to attend his visit to my area next year.

The jacket is fully lined in silk:

And has numerous lovely little pockets for various accoutrements (Note the personalized tags):

Surgeon's cuffs:

You can also see that the lapels are wider than the modern style, which I requested. I would have liked them to have been a little bit wider still, but they were working with a picture I sent them from a catalog scan, so I can't expect precision. If I order another suit from them, I will probably confer with some of our resident tailors on FL about how to accurately describe the width of lapel I want. Regardless, I'm satisfied with the result this go round.

I actually specified no button loops, but they included them anyways, which is a fairly minor fault and can easily be remedied. They got everything else right, including high-waisted trousers with braces buttons:

The length was perfect, and they even included this interesting little reinforcement at the heel:

Detail of the fly area with the little "tab" for the inner button that definitely has a vintage pedigree from what I've seen here on FL. The white material is a rubberized strip to hold your shirt inside your trousers. Not a bad little item to include:

And finally a shot with the jacket buttoned. Imagine that the waistcoat is matching fabric but the same cut of lapel and you'll get an idea of how the three piece will look:

Also note that these shots are right out of the box, so the suit needs to be pressed since it was packed in a little bag inside a box for shipping.

My order also included three shirts, one of which you see here. I will post again when I have pics of the shirts separately showing the details of each.

All in all, I'm quite satisfied apart from the little mishap with the waistcoat not appearing. As long as they rectify that reasonably quickly, I'll be very pleased. This entire order, including the extra charges for the surgeon's cuffs, waistcoat and shirts cost me only $700CAD, which would have been about the minimum cost for a junky Moore's special alone. Basically, it's like getting a made to measure suit for 700 and getting 3 shirts thrown in for free.

More to come!

 

[Gin&Tonics]

BUMP! - As promised, the shirts

As promised, some pics and a bit of info about the shirts.

All the shirts are single needle stitching of high quality and are cut beautifully to my measurements. They fit perfectly and are nicely shaped to prevent any billowy excess of fabric, yet are not body hugging or tight. The only minor issue was the length of the tail being slightly on the short side, but I suppose that's my fault. I took the measurement from one of my shirts I already own, but for some reason these seem shorter. They aren't so short that they pop out of my trousers though, so it's fine.

I ordered two shirts in sea island cotton, one white and one white with black stripe, and one shirt in pinpoint gray oxford. All of them are soft to the touch and very comfortable and breathable.

With his one I went with a standard point collar and french cuffs.

Each shirt comes with the option of a monogram for no extra charge. I selected no pockets for my shirts and had the monogram on the cuffs.

The pinpoint oxford I went for a button down point collar and button cuffs, in keeping with the more casual style of the shirt.

And finally something a bit more eccentric - a Victorian inspired wing collar shirt with french cuffs

I believe the collars and cuffs are of fused construction. I don't actually know what that means...lol can anyone enlighten me?

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

Congratulations on the new suit. "Fused" means the interlining which is "glued" to the fabric with heat and pressure. Could you show us the catalog scan you provided them...just to compare?

PS: The fused interlining makes the collar really stiff and if it is done badly there could be bubbles when the glue comes undone. For spread collars the stiff feeling is not all that bad. But for spearpoint collars many here like it soft and floppy.

 

[Gin&Tonics]

Hi Floey!

Thanks for clarifying; I actually figured that's probably what it meant, but I didn't want to pretend like I actually knew for sure lol.

The point collar on the striped shirt is very stiff indeed, while the collar on the button down oxford seems less so. Everything about the shirts feels like good quality, so hopefully there won't be any problems with bubbling. The French cuffs do not seem to be stiff at all, so they are perhaps not fused? This is what the Maxwell's website briefly says about the shirts:

The famous Maxwell shirt is individually hand-cut and made in single needle tailoring.

All shirts have:
• fuse collar and cuffs
• a standard business pocket,
• cuff pleats
• seven button placket front
• sleeve gaunlet opening with button
• side pleats at back

Note that I deleted the business pocket with no problems at all from them, so perhaps they would be able to provide the "floppy" point collars you mention without difficulty. I tend to like my collars nice and stiff!

Here is the scan I provided them:

And a closer view for comparison:

I actually think they did a decent job replicating it based on that image. What do you think?

 

[Metatron]

I'm liking those lapels.

 

[McMurdo]

I really like what I see, it looks smashing on you.

 

[Yeps]

Here is the scan I provided them:

And a closer view for comparison:

I actually think they did a decent job replicating it based on that image. What do you think?

It looks really good. I would love to see those horizontal peaks like the original, and the slightly lower gorge, but what you got looks great.

 

[Gin&Tonics]

Thanks, gents! Had it pressed today to get rid of all those unsightly creases and wrinkles, so now it's all smooth and nice hanging in my closet waiting for a day cool enough to wear it hehe.

 

[Gin&Tonics]

the vest finally arrived!

I'll try and get a better photo, but this will do for now.

Cheers!

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

It's a cool outfit. The lapels on the waiscoat were a good choice.

Do you want to read tips about achieving better authenticity (maybe for the next order) or would this been inappropriate? It's a bit like what the costumers in Boardwalk Empire did.

 

[Gin&Tonics]

It's a cool outfit. The lapels on the waiscoat were a good choice.

Do you want to read tips about achieving better authenticity (maybe for the next order) or would this been inappropriate? It's a bit like what the costumers in Boardwalk Empire did.

I don't mind hearing them. I wasn't going for something strictly authentic this go round anywho; I was more going for something that was Victorian inspired with vintage-like details. Next year I may order a 3 piece linen suit with belt back, patch pockets and notch lapels.

Tell me what you know, Floey!

 

[JonnyO]

Great looking suit Gin, I really like the striped shirt you got. Very sharp!